By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
The Auto Magazine
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
    Auto ShowsShow More
    BMW and Alvaro Barrington celebrate hydrogen mobility at Art Basel in Basel 2025
    June 18, 2025
    MHB DEALER EXPO 2025 – A Premier Automotive Networking Experience
    June 17, 2025
    Entries Open for The Cape 1000 – South Africa’s Most Beautiful Drive Returns for 2026
    June 10, 2025
    Ulterio Motiv Toyota Land Cruiser 6×6 and 6×4 to invade Land Cruiser Festival
    June 3, 2025
    Maserati enthrals at FuoriConcorso with GT2 Stradale and MCXtrema
    May 14, 2025
  • Bikes
    BikesShow More
    Desmo450 MX: Production of the first Ducati Motocross bike begins
    May 28, 2025
    25YM Honda NC750X
    May 13, 2025
    BMW Motorrad presents the new BMW R 1300 RS
    May 2, 2025
    BMW Motorrad presents the new BMW R 1300 RT
    April 30, 2025
    Honda NC750X Named Winner in 2025 Red Dot Design Award
    April 10, 2025
  • News
    NewsShow More
    Porsche 963 cars raise 600,000 euros in Le Mans towards Racing for Charity
    June 20, 2025
    50 Years of BMW Art Cars and the BMW 3 Series at the BMW Museum
    June 20, 2025
    Ford Performance Returns to Pikes Peak with Electric Super Mustang Mach-E Demonstrator
    June 20, 2025
    Winners of ISUZU AI Innovation Challenge 2024 announced
    June 18, 2025
    Kia Tasman Blazes New Trail 
    June 18, 2025
  • Concepts
    ConceptsShow More
    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans
    June 11, 2025
    FIAT unveils the manifesto Grande Panda 4×4
    May 20, 2025
    Renault 4 Savane 4×4 Concept makes its global debut at Roland-Garros 2025
    May 16, 2025
    Hyundai Motor and Plus Unveil Concept for Autonomous Hydrogen Freight Ecosystem at ACT Expo 202
    May 2, 2025
    Hyundai Motor Unveils the new IONIQ 6 and IONIQ 6 N Line
    April 5, 2025
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    24-hour race at Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa – triple marathon for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
    June 10, 2025
    Kosmas “Dudie” Mamaloukos – The Formidable Racing Talent
    May 15, 2025
    Hi-Range Safari City
    Hi-Range Safari City – The Premier outfitter for 4×4 customization
    May 15, 2025
    BEHIND THE SCENES: ARCHIE RUTHERFORD ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING THE W2RC TO SOUTH AFRICA
    May 9, 2025
    Europe and China’s automotive future in a shifting global order
    May 5, 2025
  • EVs
    EVsShow More
    Polestar 3 OTA update introduces new Abbey Road Studios Mode exclusively for Bowers & Wilkins audio system
    June 18, 2025
    No Compromise Ford Ranger PHEV Brings Electric Power to Europe’s Best-Selling Pickup
    June 18, 2025
    Scania launches MCS rapid charging solution at EVS38
    June 18, 2025
    Ford Begins Capri and Explorer Battery Pack Assembly in Cologne
    June 17, 2025
    Special Envoy Launches XPress – SA’s First Full EV Courier Fleet
    June 11, 2025
  • Motosport
    MotosportShow More
    Commanding performance by Škoda at Rally Poland
    June 20, 2025
    Nissan Formula E Team ready for Jakarta return as Season 11 enters closing stages
    June 20, 2025
    Martin Prokop Becomes First Privateer for Ford Raptor T1+
    June 18, 2025
    The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans in Numbers
    June 18, 2025
    Samantha Tan makes her debut in the MINI John Cooper Works at the Nürburgring
    June 18, 2025
  • Trucks & Buses
    Trucks & BusesShow More
    Scania launches MCS rapid charging solution at EVS38
    June 18, 2025
    Daimler Truck and Volvo Group launch Coretura
    June 17, 2025
    Volvo Trucks launches upgraded Volvo Dynamic Steering system to increase road safety
    June 17, 2025
    MAN starts series production of electric trucks
    June 17, 2025
    UD Trucks Southern Africa celebrates dealers breaking barriers at 2025 awards ceremony
    June 11, 2025
  • Reviews
    ReviewsShow More
    THE NEW HAVAL H6 SUV IS HERE, AND IT’S BUILT FOR BIG MOMENTS!
    June 18, 2025
    THE NEW PEUGEOT E-208 GTi MORE PLEASURE. MORE GTi THAN EVER!
    June 17, 2025
    New BMW XM options: maximum exclusivity and breathtaking performance.
    June 12, 2025
    The Audi Q5 e-hybrid: all-rounder with great electric range
    June 11, 2025
    Lotus introduces 2026 Emira V6 SE and Emira Turbo
    June 6, 2025
  • Tech
    TechShow More
    New Kia App provides European drivers with a unified digital experience
    June 17, 2025
    Abbey Road Studios Mode makes global debut in Volvo EX90
    June 17, 2025
    Audi develops the picking process of the future
    June 2, 2025
    Volvo EX90 LiDAR and smartphone cameras: What you need to know
    June 2, 2025
    VNC Automotive Partners with P3 to Enhance the SPARQ OS Platform
    May 29, 2025
Hot News
Commanding performance by Škoda at Rally Poland
Porsche 963 cars raise 600,000 euros in Le Mans towards Racing for Charity
Nissan Formula E Team ready for Jakarta return as Season 11 enters closing stages
50 Years of BMW Art Cars and the BMW 3 Series at the BMW Museum
Ford Performance Returns to Pikes Peak with Electric Super Mustang Mach-E Demonstrator
Technology

P3 Integrates with ZBO Electronics to Create End-to-end Infotainment Solution for Carmakers

Latest News

Maybach presents its first Haute Parfumerie collection

ConceptsMotosport

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans

Latest News

TOYOTA CONTINUES SALES SUCCESS IN MARCH 2023

Font ResizerAa
The Auto MagazineThe Auto Magazine
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
  • Bikes
  • News
  • Concepts
  • Interviews
  • EVs
  • Motosport
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Reviews
  • Tech
Search
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
  • Bikes
  • News
  • Concepts
  • Interviews
  • EVs
  • Motosport
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Reviews
  • Tech
Follow US
Crafted by Intellegere Media. © 2024 The Auto Magazine. All rights reserved.
Reviews

Pierre-Henri Raphanel: Bugatti Pilote Officiel

Itumeleng Garebatshabe
Last updated: October 5, 2023 16:31
By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
855 Views
11 Min Read
Share
11 Min Read
SHARE

With a racing career that peaked with Formula One and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pierre-Henri Raphanel knows exactly what it takes to control raw power, outstanding performance and high speeds under pressure from behind the wheel. At Bugatti, he has been using that rich experience and deep expertise since 2005, when he became the first – and only – Pilote Officiel of the brand.

“I always knew I was destined for a life on the track and behind the wheel,” says Pierre-Henri. “Having started in karting, I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue a career interwoven with motorsport.”

- Advertisement -
Ad image

Destined to race

Pierre-Henri is unwavering in his intense passion for racing. His first foray came at the tender age of 13 years, with his first go-karting competition. With a focused mind and a natural talent, Pierre-Henri quickly established himself in the karting scene enjoying great success – he won the French Championship and ranked in the Top 6 in the World Championship – often outdriving competitors that were older and with much more on-track experience.

Supported unconditionally by his parents, the early years in karting were after all a family adventure for the Raphanels, with the entire family – originally from the South of France – happily sacrificing weekends to travel the length and breadth of the country to compete in some of the most famous races.

Having dominated karting up to the age of 21, Pierre-Henri was then ready for a new challenge.

Formula Renault beckoned, followed by competitive seasons in Formula 3000 and Formula 3. During the latter, he won the French Championship, including victory at that season’s F3 Monaco Grand Prix. The raw speed of Pierre-Henri springboarded him into the rarefied world of Formula One – the most elite motorsport in the world. In 1989, Pierre-Henri achieved the dream of every single racing driver in the world, racing in Formula One around the Monte Carlo circuit for revered the Monaco Grand Prix.

After achieving the pinnacle of motorsports, Pierre-Henri sought out a different challenge, taking his skills into the world of endurance car racing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Japan Championship GT series. During 14 races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the world’s greatest endurance race – he secured three podiums with his co-drivers and one class win.

Pierre-Henri would stop racing competitively in the early 2000s, ready to the take the next step in his career, applying his skills, knowledge and passion to a new project that was set to revolutionize the automotive industry. “The point at which I stopped racing felt like a natural end to that important era – I had no sense of frustration nor bitterness. But, as that chapter closed, another exciting one opened,” he adds.

The Bugatti chapter

Indeed, another chapter was about to start for him when in 2005 – having retired from racing a few years earlier – Pierre-Henri received an unexpected phone call that changed his career outlook forever: “It was Thomas Bscher – I had not heard from him for a good seven years, when we first met at a Gentlemen’s Drivers event” he recalls. Thomas, who was Bugatti’s President at the time, was overseeing pre-series development of a car that would become a modern-day automotive icon: the Veyron.

“He invited me to Molsheim for a presentation to a select group of people on the Veyron. Remember: at the time, not much was widely known about the rebirth of the Bugatti brand and this all-new supercar. Naturally, I was curious to learn more, so I gladly accepted Thomas’s invitation and traveled to Alsace.”

And what Pierre-Henri saw that day in Molsheim will stay in his mind forever, igniting his next new love – this time for Bugatti.

“The Veyron was absolutely mind-blowing. It was – and it still is – unlike anything else in the automotive world. I was absolutely mesmerized by the car and the brand. I remember not wanting to step out of the car – I literally stayed seated in it for around seven consecutive hours, I was that awe-struck. I just knew, at that moment, I wanted to be part of this breathtaking adventure.”

The pioneering Pilote Officiel

From that moment on, Bugatti chose Pierre-Henri as its one and only Pilote Officiel, trusted to represent the brand and showcase the new car and its wonders to customers all over the world.

Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles, explains: “With the launch of the Veyron in 2005, Bugatti was venturing into a world of performance and speed that no other car manufacturer had explored before. We needed to ensure that we had not only an extremely talented driver who could help us to demonstrate all the car’s abilities to our customers, but someone who could also intricately explain both the engineering innovations and tell, with passion, the story of the Bugatti brand. From his very first experience with Veyron, Pierre-Henri immediately understood the vision of our cars and he has been the perfect ambassador for Bugatti ever since.”

It is a role that Pierre-Henri continues to be immensely proud of to this day, some 18 years after his appointment. “Unlike any other car maker in the world, with Bugatti each new model truly is even more exceptional than the previous one – and believe me I could never have envisaged saying that having first seen the Veyron back in 2005; for me, at that time, the Veyron represented the very pinnacle, but part of Bugatti’s ethos and DNA is to continually raise the bar time and time again, and that’s exactly what the brand has done following the Veyron with the Chiron¹ family. To be part of a journey as rare and magical is something I couldn’t even dream of.”

Despite his long career with Bugatti, it never ceases to impress Pierre-Henri how the brand’s hyper sports cars brilliantly balance contrasting attributes, emotive and engineering characteristics that at first value seem impossible to combine at such extreme levels: “The Veyron – and now the Chiron – are masterpieces of sheer beauty but that lighter side is enriched with a deeper personality that stems from incomparable power and performance. I like to call Bugatti cars ‘The Beauty and the Beast’ to express how they perfectly balance such performance with agility; power with comfort; and unique external signature sounds with luxurious interior acoustics. The Bugatti savoir-faire is to be able to offer all these very different facets – and many more – within one single automobile, regardless if its cruising at 20 km/h or being pushed to extreme speeds.”

And Pierre-Henri knows what it feels like to both appreciate the beauty, and to find the beast within these cars. In July 2010, he entwined his name with the Bugatti brand forever as he drove the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport to a world record maximum speed of 431.072 km/h in Ehra-Lessien in Lower Saxony, Germany.

“Even after 18 incredible years with the brand, I still can’t get used to – and, in fact, I am sure I never will – that feeling that only a Bugatti automobile can achieve. Creating everlasting memories, sharing once-in-a-lifetime moments with people from all over the world – customers and brand enthusiasts – is part of the story that makes Bugatti truly incomparable to any other brand in the world. I love to not only share with these people the incredible driving abilities of a Bugatti, but also the peerless history and craftsmanship behind the brand.

“No matter where a Bugatti automobile finds itself – on a mountain pass in the Alps, on-track in the Middle East, touring the metropolis that is Tokyo city or embarking on a Californian adventure up to Wine Country – it will perfectly perform all the time. This is the uncompromising ethos that underpins the excellence that the brand is steeped in since Ettore Bugatti founded it. And, on a personal note, deep down in my heart, this is something that really appeals to me: Bugatti is not only about the most elegant and powerful hyper sports cars in the world, it is also a brand with a heritage that is deep and rich, encapsulating an incredible legacy honored everyday by the team in Molsheim.”

In 2011, Pierre-Henri’s role was complemented with the addition of another legend in motorsport joining the brand: Andy Wallace became Bugatti’s second Pilote Officiel.

“I have had about 10,000 different drives with almost as many different customers creating thousands of Bugatti journeys that will stay engraved forever. As we embark upon a new and exciting chapter for the brand, we will make new memories that will be incomparable to anything else witnessed in the automotive world. To be part of that onward journey means I continue to live my very own dream,” concludes Pierre-Henri when asked about the future of the brand.

TAGGED:BugattiPierre-Henri RaphanelPilote Officiel

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Stay Updated! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn VKontakte Telegram Email Copy Link Print
Share
ByItumeleng Garebatshabe
Editor
Follow:
Itumeleng is the Managing Editor of The Auto Magazine. He is a tech and car enthusiast

Follow US

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe
TiktokFollow
TelegramFollow
Google NewsFollow
LinkedInFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

You Might Also Like

Latest News

FRANK HEYL BEGINS NEW CHAPTER AS BUGATTI DIRECTOR OF DESIGN

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
August 1, 2023
Latest News

Two decades of dedication for six of the Bugatti team

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
December 6, 2023
Concepts

W16 Mistral: the art of bringing Bugatti’s ultimate roadster to life

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
January 24, 2024
Latest News

Racing legend Andy Wallace and Bugatti Bolide: when destinies cross paths

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
March 26, 2024
Reviews

From vision to Veyron: the evolution of a Bugatti icon

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
May 17, 2025
Latest News

100 years of the trailblazing Bugatti Type 32 ‘Tank’

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
July 4, 2023

The Auto Magazine

  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Policy
  • Bikes
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Auto Shows
  • Latest News
  • Motosport

Made by Intellegere Media. All rights reserved. 2023

Don't not sell my personal information
Join Us!
Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc.

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
adbanner